Angie Mezzetti speaks to four people who have undergone drastic surgery in their battle against obesity
SANDRA NWEKE: "People think surgery is the easy option, but it is not. It is an operation and I was lucky that it was keyhole surgery. I had five tiny holes in my stomach and spent time in intensive care."
Sandra was 27 stone when she went to see her GP about referring her to the weight management programme at Loughlinstown Hospital.
She was attending the multi-disciplinary team for a year before she had the surgery: "They want to make sure you are willing to make the effort before they will do the surgery on you."
She says the embarrassment when she went out was the worst thing. A week before her surgery one man stopped and stared at her as she walked through Liffey Valley Shopping Centre.
She had been a champion swimmer in her school days and had practised karate - something to which she is now returning. "I used to make excuses and thought I didn't have time to exercise. You spend your life being there for other people but you have to take time to look after yourself, to do it right."
She is well on her way to her goal and recommends anyone with problems shifting weight should attend the clinic. She has suffered hair loss and low tolerance of chocolate and sugary things since the operation but has been reassured her hair will grow back and she now takes vitamin, iron and calcium supplements.
FRANCES* (name has been changed): "No one will ever know the pleasure I got from buying a bra in Penny's," says Frances, who had surgery at Loughlinstown in September. She weighed 304lbs starting out and now weighs 234 lbs. Her weight is still dropping and she hopes to get her exercise programme started soon.
"I feel normal now when out on social occasions. I can buy clothes in normal shops. I am down from a size 32 to a 18."
She always had a problem with overeating as a child. "I tried every diet going but it didn't work. I had a compulsive eating disorder and I didn't realise it."
She was turning 40, weighing 22 stone and finding it very difficult to cope with her small active children. Her GP wasn't as supportive as she would have liked so she waited until he went on holiday and then got a referral letter from the locum.
She had heard from a friend about Loughlinstown and, in January, sent a letter describing her desperation and had an appointment by July. She was so determined not to miss her 11am appointment that she left her home in the west of Ireland at 4am to be in Dublin on time.
Seeing the team and, in particular, the psychologist were vital. "If I had gone abroad for the operation, that back-up would have been missing and, for me, it was necessary. I used to stress eat and I wasn't even aware of it."
Frances has now started to de-clutter her life on other levels too. "I steer clear of people who are emotional drainers," she says.
She believes surgery is cost-effective in the long run, as she no longer needs her asthma medication.
PATRICK COSGROVE: "You wouldn't believe the way people would stare at you in the street, even if I was eating a sandwich, as if that was what you did all day."
Patrick was beyond morbidly obese, classified as super obese. He had been attending St James's Hospital, where he was on a waiting list for years. In sheer desperation, he went on the internet to see if he could get bypass surgery done in England. Before his operation, Patrick says he had no self-esteem. He says he would get into a lather at the prospect of going to a parent-teacher meeting. He was also terrified when a wedding invite came because he couldn't get clothes to fit him. Before his operation, he was 31 stone; an increase from 17 stone eight years previously when he left the army.
Since his surgery in the UK two years ago, he has lost weight steadily and his weight has now stabilised at around 13 stone.
Initially, he could eat only puréed food but was able to tolerate solid food in smaller portions after six months. He believes he would not be alive today to watch his children grow up if he had not opted for surgery.
SARA COSTELLO: "I was always big as a child and I now have eight stone to lose. I met the support group in April and I never realised there were so many others like me. I am going to England shortly for a consultation and I can't wait."
Sarah is looking forward to her gastric bypass surgery in July in Leeds. Despite several efforts to have the procedure done here, she has opted to go with Patrick Cosgrove's group. "I was given a bed in Beaumont then that was cancelled. I was just fed up," she says. "I rang all the private hospitals in Dublin to see if they were doing it but had no joy. It is not covered by any medical insurance."